Books The Seven-Step Homestead

Perfect for any aspiring backyard gardeners, this book offers a doable, incremental program for turning any yard into a primary food source with vegetables, fruits, chickens, pollinator plants, and medicinal herbs.

Today’s gardeners want a bit of everything—vegetables, fruit, medicinal herbs, flowers for pollinators, and even chickens for eggs. The dream is to build a diverse landscape that serves multiple functions, but achieving that goal can be intimidating and overwhelming. Homesteader Leah M. Webb shares her strategy for implementing a homestead plan in seven stages by starting small and gradually adding more features each year.

The Seven-Step Homestead takes readers through the process with a series of doable steps, beginning with establishing one or two raised beds of the easiest vegetables to grow, and gradually building up to the addition of fruit trees and berry bushes on hugelkulture mounds, a coop full of chickens, and a winter’s worth of storage crops. Step-by-step photos from the author’s own homestead, accompanied by her hard-earned advice and instruction, make this a one-of-a-kind guide for anyone who aspires to grow more of their own food.

About Author Leah M. Webb:

Leah Webb, MPH, obtained her health coach certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition after earning a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from Appalachian State University and a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences from Georgia Southern University. She has worked in nutrition and gardening education since 2009, with a focus on engaging children in healthy eating habits through experiential learning and discovery. Leah started and runs the Deep Rooted Wellness blog, where she posts stories and tips regarding nutrition, gardening, and healthy families. She lives in the mountains of North Carolina with her husband, T.C., and her two children, Owen and June. Owen has a life-threatening anaphylactic allergy to wheat, and June has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease severely impacting the lungs and pancreas. Leah's commitment to a restrictive, nutrient-dense diet has played an important role in her children's integrative care. When not at work, you'll find Leah in her garden, tending to her chickens, volunteering in her children's schools, or engaging in a variety of forms of exercise that feel nourishing.